This study compared the treatment efficacy of real words (RW) and non-words (NW) containing complex consonant clusters. Using a single-subject multiple baseline design, six children with speech sound disorders (SSD) (5;3 to 6;2) were split into two treatment groups (RW and NW). Children taught clusters in RWs had more accurate productions and greater generalization of their treatment target, while children in the NW treatment resulted in a greater decrease in error variants. Both groups demonstrated similar changes in their overall percent consonants correct and untreated cluster production accuracy. Thus, complex cluster targets in both RWs and NWs should be considered to be efficient and efficacious options when providing SSD treatment. Since children demonstrated widespread phonological change despite often lacking all cluster segments in their phonemic inventories, previous suggestions of complex cluster target selection may need to be revisited.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.